West Yorkshire Police weapons surrender (19 Jan 2015)

Stabbing victim Vincent Uzomah
is backing a new West Yorkshire Police initiative giving people the
chance to hand over guns and other weapons.

The weapons surrender, starting tomorrow (January 20) until
January 30, involves police urging members of the public to hand in
any weapons they hold including knives and offensive weapons

The initiative aims to avoid weapons getting into the wrong
hands and provide members of the community with a safe place to
dispose of firearms, ammunition, knives and other weapons they
have.

Mr Uzomah, aged 51, of Leeds, is supporting the campaign and
appealing for people to hand in any weapons so they are not used to
cause injury to others.

He was working as a teacher at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford
in June last year when he was stabbed by a teenage boy.

He said: "Weapons are not toys, so please do not carry one. I
nearly lost my life in the hand of a knife-carrying student in
school, and my family was devastated. Our society is safer when you
don't carry one, hand in any weapon in your possession today
please".

During the campaign those surrendering firearms, ammunition knives
and other offensive weapons will not face prosecution for simply
possessing these weapons and they may wish to remain anonymous.

The initiative is being supported by the Save a Life, Surrender
Your Knife campaign which aims to bring together anti-knife
campaigners across the country to reduce the number of weapons on
the streets and make communities safer.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Angela Williams said: "While
we continue to maintain a low number of recorded crimes involving
guns, knives and other weapons, we take it extremely seriously.

"We had a good response to a similar campaign in November 2014
when more than 150 knives and other weapons were handed in. The
safe removal of these items from the streets ensures they cannot be
used for criminal activity or worse still to hurt or kill
someone.

"We would urge members of the public to hand in any weapons at
their local police station. Failure to do so would be a serious
matter and could lead to some very serious charges."

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire Police and Crime
Commissioner, said: "I fully support this weapons surrender. It is
reassuring to know that gun and knife crime remains low across the
county, but I would urge people to take advantage of this surrender
to hand in weapons they have that may be illegal and dangerous in
the wrong hands.

"I am pleased to support such a worthwhile campaign and applaud
Mr Uzomah for coming forward following his traumatic ordeal.

"This surrender which will hopefully lead to people in West
Yorkshire being safer and feeling safer gives individuals a perfect
opportunity to ensure the weapons are disposed of safely and
ensures we are doing all we can to keep our communities safe and
preventing potential crimes of the future."

Dr Edward Impey, Master of the Royal Armouries: "We value the
relationship we have built with West Yorkshire Police throughout
our last 20 years in Yorkshire, and we are delighted to be able to
offer our expertise to support them with this
initiative."